Sullivan’s household incomes are higher than in 95% of Canadian towns
Of everyone in Sullivan working or looking for work in May 2021, 7.8% were unemployed, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns. Workers in Sullivan spend 32.8 minutes on the way to work on average (26 in the middle of Canadian towns). In Sullivan, 75% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Sullivan and work: the main findings
Higher incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $115,600 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 32.8 minutes; the middle of Canadian towns is 26. Getting to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Sullivan earns B− for jobs and income
Better than 47% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #146 of 254 in British Columbia.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, trip times.
Graded against Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more; less unemployment and a shorter commute count in its favour.
How the grade works
Census 2021 measures, weighed equally against every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 people or more: the share of residents aged 15 to 64 in work, median household income (2020), the unemployment rate and the average commute. Each becomes a percentile; their average sets the letter.
Household income in Sullivan: $115,600 at the median
That puts Sullivan 33% above the median of British Columbia’s towns, $86,900. Of the 95 other places of 2,500 or more in the Greater Vancouver census division, 18 have a higher median. The year is 2020: emergency benefits like CERB count in these incomes, and they raised the bottom of the range.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 12% of Sullivan’s commuters
More people take transit to work here than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 10% against 2.3%. 86% drive to work, about the same as in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Home was the workplace for 15%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
Who in Sullivan has a job
Of the 95 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Greater Vancouver census division, 57 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting those looking for work too, 70% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 63% in October 2026. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: people in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64, and the census unemployment rate (15 and over); the 25-to-54 rate is Statistics Canada’s own (98-10-0485). The Labour Force Survey and business counts are context, not grade inputs.
In the Greater Vancouver census division, 63% more people receive EI than in 2019
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 4%. The count topped out in January 2021 at 117,570 people, 3.3 times the 2019 average. That is about 3.6 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for the Greater Vancouver census division, not by town. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Getting around Sullivan on foot earns A
Better than 92% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #87 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Sullivan ranks: 69th of 141 Canadian towns of 29,500 to 56,900
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whitehorse Yukon | 34,129 | 82% | 5.6% | $112K | A+ |
| 2 | Arcola East Saskatchewan | 33,823 | 79% | 7.7% | $123K | A+ |
| 3 | Woolwich Ontario | 31,382 | 82% | 6.2% | $115K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 10 | West Kelowna British Columbia | 40,274 | 78% | 7.5% | $99K | A |
| 11 | Fairview British Columbia | 33,969 | 86% | 6.9% | $83K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Mount Pleasant British Columbia | 37,091 | 83% | 7.6% | $87K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 67 | Le Boisé Champêtre Quebec | 37,891 | 75% | 9.4% | $90K | B− |
| 68 | Magog Quebec | 30,764 | 78% | 7.8% | $63K | B− |
| 69 | Sullivan British Columbia | 42,135 | 75% | 7.8% | $116K | B− |
| 70 | Prince Albert Saskatchewan | 40,728 | 65% | 12% | $74K | B− |
| 71 | Pierrefonds-Ouest Quebec | 30,978 | 74% | 9.5% | $96K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 141 | Est (Montréal-Nord) Quebec | 31,383 | 64% | 13% | $55K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Sullivan, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Neighbouring places to Sullivan, compared
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sullivan | 75% | 7.8% | $116K | 32.8 min | B− | A |
| Panorama Ridge 2.7 km | 72% | 8.8% | $115K | 32.4 min | C+ | A |
| Newton 3.1 km | 72% | 8.6% | $94K | 34.5 min | C | A+ |
| Fleetwood 4 km | 72% | 7.9% | $109K | 32.6 min | C+ | A |
| Surrey Centre 4.4 km | 77% | 8.3% | $127K | 28.7 min | B+ | B+ |
| Colebrook 4.8 km | 80% | 8.8% | $148K | 30.4 min | A− | C+ |
| Strawberry Hill 5.1 km | 72% | 9.4% | $92K | 34.5 min | C | A+ |
The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and the average commute, with both grades once they come.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Sullivan, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Household income. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- Trip times. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own timed average.
- Employment Insurance. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- In work. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- Which towns we compare. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
- Neighbourhood figures. Everything here sums the dissemination areas inside Sullivan’s lines, since the census has no neighbourhood profile; where people commute is on Surrey’s page.
Questions about work in Sullivan
How many jobs are there in Sullivan?
Jobs and commuting flows exist only for Surrey as a whole, and its page carries them.
What is the unemployment rate in Sullivan?
The census put unemployment at 7.8% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Vancouver metro area at 6.7%.
What is the average household income in Sullivan?
The median household in Sullivan had $115,600 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Sullivan get to work?
Driving takes 86% of commuters to work, 10% take public transit, 1.8% walk and 0.1% cycle, and on census day 15% of those in work were at home.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · Statistics Canada, table 14-10-0323 (EI beneficiaries) · Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (14-10-0459, 14-10-0462) · Statistics Canada, Canadian Business Counts (33-10-1176) · grades: TownRatings. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).